Mysteries, Cont.

Some have been wondering why I chose Baron Blitzkrieg as the JSA mystery villain over Per Degaton, who seems the obvious choice. There's a few reasons why, and I'll eludicate them here.

1. Per Degaton's not a Nazi. Don't let the armband fool you: Per Degaton isn't really a Nazi. Though Degaton is most certainly a fascist, take another look at that armband: It's got a stilized "D" rather than a swastika. Per Degaton certainly believes in supreme power -- but he's going to be the one to use it.

In that sense Degaton isn't a Nazi "true believer" in the way that Baron Blitzkrieg is. As such, he'd have no reason to employ other true believers like "The Fourth Reich."

2. Per Degaton was just here. It was relatively recently (relatively in comic time, anyway) that Degaton appeared as a JSA villain. He played a major role in a pivotal pre-Infinite Crisis storyline. It seems too "soon" for him to be showing up again. Incidentlally, his modus operandi from that previous appearance doesn't match up with the methods employed by the current mystery villain.

3. Per Degaton doesn't know these guys. I definitely considered Degaton as the mystery villain. He makes a great deal of sense, but there was one moment in the Wizard profiles that made me dismiss him.

The key to me is the profile on Damage. The mystery villain says that he "knows him." As far as I'm aware, there are only two villains with a history of combating the JSA who can claim to know Damage at least slightly well: Vandal Savage and Baron Blitzkrieg.

And though Vandal Savage is still second on my list, Baron Blitzkrieg wins out thanks to the appearance of "The Fourth Reich." The mystery villain has to have Nazi connections. Otherwise, why those particular supervillains?

4. Per Degaton's too obvious. It seems to me that Degaton is just too obvious to be the villain. He's relatively well known (among JSA readers, anyway) and the recent hullabaloo over that multiverse thingy makes him seem likely. But I think that's just what Geoff Johns wants us to think. I hope I'm not giving him too much credit.

Also, I don't think that the Starman dimension hopping stuff is related to the JSA mystery villain. I think that's all a set up for the future arcs that will deal with the Legion and Kingdom Come.

Of course, this is still all my speculation. And there's nothing to say that I'm not wrong. After all, I've been wrong a lot.